The Brand The Mark and The Seal
by ZeroDivisionRaijin
Summary: After being dropped in the middle of a snowfield, Naruto awakens after a strange dream and must find his way within this new and strange dimension. Maybe make a few new friends along the way? Sow a bit of chaos? Find out if ramen still exists? Join Naruto in his adventure to find his new place in a foreign land. Strong/Smart Naruto, M!Robin, pairings undecided.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: Hello, kiddies! I'm back once again, this time with a different crossover! To all of my fellow Fire Emblem fans out there, this one's for you lot. An idea came to me in a fit of inspiration, and it led to this. That being said, followers of Gods and Maidens will be disappointed to see that it's been deleted. Reason: My muse for that story pissed off into oblivion and left me high and dry, which is where this one comes in. It's more or less the replacement for Gods and Maidens, as well as my first Naruto/FE crossover.**

 **As you can no doubt see, it's mainly a crossover with Awakening, and I might as well go ahead and spoil that Fates will also play a part in this… but that's WAAAAAY down the road. In this one, Naruto's thrown into the world of FE:A after his first showdown with Sasuke in the Valley of the End, so he's still thirteen at this point. And don't worry; Sasuke will** _ **not**_ **be making an appearance in this one.**

 **As always, people, no flames!**

 **DISCLAIMER: I do not own Naruto or Fire Emblem. All rights go to Masashi Kishimoto and Nintendo respectfully.**

 **Premonition: A Fate Unchanged?**

"This guy just won't quit, will he?" Huffed out a person as he took a knee and wiped a thin trail of blood from the corner of his mouth.

"His dark magic is potent." Spoke the only man still standing of the three. "But we've overcome worse odds before."

"Does the name Walhart ring a bell to anyone?" Mused the second kneeling man as he took in a breath and stood to his feet. "We beat the Conqueror, so we can beat the man… no, the _thing_ in front of us."

"What a way to talk about your own Father, Robin." Chuckled the first man as he, too, stood to his feet and picked up the discarded katana that was to his right. "Mean little bastard, aren't you?"

"Laugh it up." Despite the situation, Robin couldn't help but smile at his longtime friend.

"This is it!" The second man suddenly announced. "Our final battle!"

"Hell yeah…" The first man gleefully agreed with a feral smile.

"You're one of us now, Robin, and no 'destiny' can change that!" He continued, smiling at the man to his left.

"And you've been one hell of a friend throughout all of this!" The first man added. "So here's to us!"

"Thank you, Chrom…" Robin smiled once again at the now identified Chrom.

"And you have more than proved yourself, Naruto!" Chrom turned to the figure at his right. "Truly, Naga herself smiled upon me when she sent you two to be by my side."

"Chrom, stop, you're gonna make me blush." Naruto chuckled at the praise he was being given.

"You two are my closest and most trusted friends. We started our journey together, so I think it fitting that we finish it together." Robin said, quickly flipping open his favorite tome to the page which held Thoron, his favorite spell.

"Here, here!" Naruto cheered, fist pumping the air with his left hand and a wide grin.

"Now, let's kill this dastard and be done with it!" Chrom declared as he unsheathed the exalted blade Falchion and charged forth, flanked by his two brothers in all but blood.

"Hahahaha!" The Dark Mage in front of them began to cackle. "Why do you resist?!"

"Chrom, down!" Robin called out as his friend wisely ducked, narrowly missing the bolt of Thoron that tore through the air above him to block an orb of dark magic their opponent had hurled.

"My turn!" Naruto's eyes gleamed ferociously as he reached into his hip pouch with his left hand, retrieved a set of three shuriken and subsequently tossed them all at the mage, who leaned out of the way and sent another orb of dark magic at the blonde.

"I got your back!" Chrom called out as he dashed into the orb and sliced right through it with Falchion. "Go!" He once again called out.

"Way ahead of ya, boss!" Naruto returned the call as he dashed forward, his katana held in a reverse grip in his right hand. "Robin, cover me!"

"Gonna do you one better!" Robin acknowledged as he flipped the tome to another page, this one a Rexcalibur spell. Thrusting his right hand forward, the wind violently picked up around the charging blonde and began to circulate around him in pseudo-armor.

"Crafty, Robin!" Cackled the Dark Mage. "But not good enough!"

"Try me then!" Challenged Naruto who charged headlong into the incoming orb of black magic, which he, to his own surprise, carved right through thanks to the Rexcalibur barrier surrounding him.

"What?!" The Dark Mage cried out.

"This is the end for you, Validar!" Naruto finally named their opponent as he flipped his katana around into a proper stance and promptly brought it to bear, slicing right through the mage, across his abdomen.

"This is for Ylisse!" Chrom called out as he joined his friend in the fray, delivering a straight stab to Validar's chest, followed up by a diagonal slice which cut the mage from his right him up to his left collar bone.

"N-No…" Validar heaved up a glob of blood as he dropped his tome.

"This is for all the people you've slaughtered up until now!" Robin joined in on his friends' mantra as he mercilessly ridded his own Father of one of his arms thanks to a well-aimed Thoron.

"THIS IS FOR THE WORLD!" All three friends intoned at the same time with Chrom swinging Falchion in a downward arc, Naruto swinging his katana in an upwards arc and Robin charging in headlong with his silver sword brandished in his right hand, aiming for a horizontal swipe at the man's head.

Simultaneously, all three attacks hit their marks… and all was silent.

Slowly, the three friends recovered from their adrenaline high and at once realized that their foe was disintegrating before their eyes.

"Get back!" Naruto wisely counseled his brothers, who all retreated away from the form of what used to be Validar.

As the decaying husk collapsed to its knees and finally face down on the marbled floor, Chrom let down his guard ant turned around to face his two friends, a big grin plastered to his face.

"T-This isn't over…" An all too familiar voice called out. "DAMN YOU ALL!"

"Chrom! Naruto!" Robin called out to them in panic as he ran in between the two of them and pushed them out of the way just as one final orb of dark magic erupted from the body of Validar.

"Robin!" Naruto yelled out to the man as the orb impacted against him and sent him flying back quite a ways, where he ended up on his back.

With utmost hasted, both he and Chrom ran over to their downed comrade, with Chrom sliding down to one knee upon reaching him. "Are you alright?!"

"Yeah…" Robin groaned. "I think so…" He felt his arms being slung over his friends' necks as they helped him stand.

"That's the end of him." Naruto stated as he spitefully glared at what remained of Validar.

"So it seems." Robin nodded, then removed his arms from around their necks.

"Thanks to you, we carried the day." Chrom smiled once again and nodded to their resident tactician. "We can rest easy now."

"At long last…" Naruto let out a weary sigh as he sheathed his katana within the sheathe on his left hip.

"Nngh…" Robin began to groan as red began to flash into his field of vision, something that went unnoticed by Chrom, but not Naruto.

"Robin, you good?" He asked as he stepped into his friend and stared him in the eyes.

"What's wrong?" Chrom's voice came out as a muffled echo. "Hey, Robin!"

"Robin, you don't look so…" Was all Naruto got out before a searing, burning sensation filled his chest.

He let out a choked grunt as he looked down to where his heart was supposed to be and found a spear of pure lightning sticking out. His vision then drifted up to Chrom, who also had a spear of lightning sticking out of him, out of his abdomen to be more specific.

Both men took a shaky step away from their friend, both clutching at their wounds.

"W-What…?" Robin breathed out as he looked down to his right hand, which was still arcing with lightning. "N-No…" Panic and fear were quickly consuming him. "No…"

"Th-This is not your…" Chrom coughed. "Your fault… promise me you'll escape from this place…"

"Chrom…" Robin called out to his dying friend, but even as the name left his mouth, it sounded hollow.

"Please…" Chrom took in his final breath. "Go…" And just like that, he let it out and collapsed to the floor face first… dead.

"N-Naruto…" Robin rounded on his remaining friend, hoping, _wishing_ , against all hope, that the blonde ball of energy was faring better.

"Go, Robin…" Naruto labored for breath. "Get out of here while you still can…"

"I… I can't…" Robin shook his head, tears threatening to spill over. "I deserve to be executed for this…"

"You still don't get it…" Despite the pain in his chest, Naruto managed a chuckle as he limped over to his remaining brother. "Neither Chrom nor I were ever destined to save the world…" He paused only to cough up a big glob of blood.

"Don't say it…" Robin vigorously shook his head. "Please…"

"It… was you all along…" Naruto smiled as he placed his right hand atop Robin's crown and ruffled his hair. "You're not to blame for this… you still have your purpose to fulfill… now, go. Leave Chrom and I here… run, and… never look back…" He finally collapsed, but found the energy to roll himself over so he was staring up at his friend. "You're so full of shit…" He chuckled again. "There's no Naga-damned light in this tunnel… you owe me… money for… this…" His eyes… shut.

"No…" Robin began chanting once again as an otherworldly laugh began to fill his entire being. "NOOOOO!"

He had killed his friends. He had killed his brothers.

He had…

Awakened.

Yes, he had finally awakened. Awakened by a light filling his vision, a blonde haired boy laid in a field of cold snow, orange jumpsuit ripped at the shoulder and burned in some places, a scratched headband held in his right hand.

"The hell am I?" Naruto groaned as he sat up from his prone position. "Argh…" He sighed in frustration. "Fox, you there?"

" **What do you want, boy?"** Replied the oversized Kyuubi no Kitsune (Nine-Tailed Fox)

"How long have I been out? Where am I?"

" **Excuse me while I gleefully play 20 Questions with you, gaki (kid)."** He scoffed. **"You've been knocked out for about an hour and a half, and as to your location, I have no idea. That vortex you and that damned Uchiha brat opened up might have spat you into a new dimension."** He then shrugged. **"Damned if I know. Right now, it looks like we're in the middle of Tetsu no Kuni (Land of Iron), but I've been wrong before."**

"Well, only one way to know for sure." Naruto groaned once again as he stood to his feet, pocketing Sasuke's headband as he did so, then shot off in a random direction through the falling snow.

He didn't know how long he had traversed the whiteness, but he eventually found a small town amidst the snow, and immediately felt out of place. People were going about their daily business, clothed in furs and simple clothes of all kinds, some carting their goods around and others seeking respite from the now raging snowstorm. It was a poor town, that much Naruto could gather, but he had never seen architecture like he was seeing… and evidently, the people now passing him by weren't accustomed to seeing that much orange.

"Oi, lad!" One called out to him. "What are ya just standin' around fer?! And why are ya wearin' such a ridiculous outfit?" He chastised the young blonde Shinobi. "In case yer daft, a blizzard's hit. Ya got a place to stay? Appropriate clothes?"

"Not at the moment, no!" Naruto called back to the man over the wind which was now picking up. "I wasn't expecting a blizzard so soon, so I didn't pack any extra clothes! Actually, my pack was lost on the way here!"

"Damn bandits again, I see." The man nodded, accepting the boy's subterfuge. "Either that, or Plegian privateers. Either way, ya can't just stay in the street, lad! Follow me!"

Naruto had no idea what a "Plegia" was. Sounded like some kind of disease. Or a really tasty cheese? Despite his ignorance on what "Plegia" was, he kindly accepted the older man's kindness and followed him to his hut, where the man immediately lit a fire.

"Now…" The man settled into a chair next to the fireplace. "Tell me yer name, lad."

"Naruto, sir." Naruto replied respectfully. "Naruto Uzumaki."

"Ya from Chon'sin or the like, lad?" The man asked, his brow furrowed. "Name sounds right for that region."

" **Kit, play along with this man."** Kurama counseled. **"For now, at least. From the sound of things, we're definitely in a new dimension."**

"Originally, yes." Naruto nodded, heeding his tenant's advice. "I was forced to leave my homeland because of a particularly vicious bandit uprising. They chased me out of my village, and I've been wandering since then."

"First time in Ferox, then?" The man asked.

"Ferox?"

"Regna Ferox." The man clarified. "Just north of the Halidom of Ylisse."

"I've never heard of any of these places." Naruto chuckled sheepishly. At least this wasn't a lie. "I led a very sheltered life, you see."

"Ahh, ya spent time with the priests and monks of Naga, didn't ya, lad?"

"Yes, sir." He lied once again. "Though even my time with them was cut short when the bandits raided my village."

"Sorry, lad." The man apologized. "I know my questions must be bringing back bad memories, so…"

"You never told me your name." Naruto changed the subject.

"Leonard." The man introduced himself. "Leonard Constantinus. Most people simply call me Leo, lad."

"I thank you for you hospitality during this blizzard, Leo." Naruto politely bowed. "I assure you, my presence here will only last the duration of the storm, then I shall be out of your hair."

"Nonsense, lad." Leo shook his head. "I can see that yer the good sort. Ya'd be welcome to stay here if ya'd like. Sure could use yer help around the town."

"If you'll have me…" Naruto started after a brief moment of contemplation. "Then I'd be happy to stay."

"Very good, lad!" Leo beamed. "Now, to just wait for this damned storm to end and I can introduce ya to the rest of the town."

"You're the mayor, then?"

"In a sense." Leo nodded. "Now, best get hunkered in. Storm's gonna be a long one, lad. Can feel it in my bones."

Despite his uneasiness about being in an entirely new dimension, Naruto could safely say that he had a good thing going now. He was in the good graces of the mayor of the town, which would undoubtedly land him a job eventually, and, most importantly, influence. He was starting from nothing once again… but if there was one thing Naruto Uzumaki was good at, it was making a name for himself.

 **AN: DONE! Short introduction chapter, as usual, but I really had fun writing it. Naruto's wound up stuck in Ferox, with nary a clue as to what in the hell is going on. What is he to do?**

 **For anyone curious, I've already sort of figured out the ages for everyone eventually. As it stands, Naruto is two to three years older than Chrom but two years younger than Emmeryn, and the war between Plegia and Ylisse is starting to draw to a close, but is still going on. That being said, we're about eight years from where Awakening actually starts, so Naruto has a long time to learn the ropes and grasp the intricacies of living within another universe and will be around 21-22 when the Canon timeline starts. Have no fear, I won't be showing every little thing that happens between now and the end of the eight years, just the big things.**

 **Now, to address the elephant in the room, and everyone's favorite subject: Pairings. I already have someone in mind for Chrom, but I'm not so sure about either Robin or Naruto, so any suggestions regarding our favorite Tactician and Fox will be greatly appreciated. Though, if I had to go with my gut right now, I'd say that Naruto would end up with Cordelia and Robin would end up with either Sumia or Tharja, maybe Lucina if I decide to deviate from my notes. At any rate, suggestions would be greatly appreciated!**

 **This is ZeroDivisionRaijin, signing off!**


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: And I'm back! Sorry this one took so long; I wanted to get through my three main stories before updating my side stories, which includes this one, unfortunately. Fair warning before we start, there will be an in-chapter timeskip and some fluff at the end.**

 **Chapter 2: Friends, Romance and Broken Hearts**

He stood there calmly, grasping the wooden training sword in a one handed grip with the blade lazily and gently scraping the snow-covered dirt beneath it, cerulean blue eyes focused on his opponent before him, a girl with short silky blonde hair wielding a bo staff in place of her usual iron lance. He knew she had the reach advantage because of her choice in weapon, but he wasn't worried, nor was this their first time facing off.

Within the village known as Frostin – which he was sure was a name made up on the spot during the founding because of the blasted snow – lived two of their best and brightest warriors: Naruto Uzumaki and his current opponent Raimi Laurentia. Naturally, being the two best warriors in the village, their spars usually garnered quite a crowd, which was saying something because they were both only fifteen, with Naruto only a week away from his sixteenth birthday.

Naruto could hear the clinking of the bags of silver and gold that was being passed around the betting pool, he could hear the murmuring of his fellow villagers and if he were to glance over Raimi's left shoulder, he could see old Leo smiling at him. The man had become something of a father figure to Naruto since ending up in this new dimension, and now nearly three years later, he could tell that the already aging man was starting to slow down. Despite this, Leo did his best to keep the town working, to manage damn near all of the diplomacy with the neighboring villages and towns, and recently to attend all of the spars with Raimi. Leo was working himself too hard, and no matter how many times Naruto protested, the man would just smile and wave him off.

Smiling back at the old man, Naruto returned his focus to Raimi, who he could see had a smile tugging at the corners of her mouth, knowing that he was returning the affections of their mayor. But as soon as it appeared, it was replaced by a focused glowering snarl as she dashed forward with a yell. Content to let her come to him, Naruto waited until she had fully committed to the thrust of her staff when he quickly brought up his sword and parried the strike upwards and would have brought the 'edge' of the wooden weapon to her throat had she not kicked out with her right foot and knocked his left leg out from under him, sending him toppling forward, right into a waiting left hook.

As he took the punch, Naruto could still see her next move: She'd bring her staff downwards to try and clonk him on the head. Sure enough, she followed up the punch with a one-handed slam, to which Naruto used his backwards momentum from the punch to fall back onto his left hand in a one-handed handspring and kicked the staff from her grasp on his upwards arc. As he landed from the handspring, he immediately dashed forward and swung his sword at her in a diagonal arc which she barely sidestepped and rolled away from him to get some space between them.

Just as she stood from the roll, her recovered staff now in hand, she felt a strong hand grasp the back of her leather jerkin, followed by a sharp tug and all she saw at the end of it was sky, the falling snow, and the tip of Naruto's sword pressed against her neck.

"I win again, Raimi." He smirked down at her toothily, eyes now sparkling with mischief.

"Shut up." She smiled back at him while flipping him off, then took his offered hand and stood back to her feet to a chorus of applauses and whistles.

"Another quick but exciting match!" Leo applauded as he stepped up to the pair. "Truly, even our liege-lord Khan Basilio would be in awe!"

"Let's not go _that_ far, Father." Naruto lightly blushed at the praise.

"Really, Leo, we're good, but not _that_ good." Raimi also blushed.

"Nonsense!" Leo pressed. "You two can give even our guards a run for their money, and at such a young age, too!" He paused to clear his throat. "As such, and seeing as your birthdays are within a week of each other's, I'd like to invite you both early to the town guard, as an early birthday present."

"F-Father…" Naruto stammered. "Are we even ready?"

"I know we're going to be adults within a few weeks, but this is…" Raimi paused to collect her thoughts. "This is unexpected, to say the least."

"I've already talked it over with your folks, Raimi, and they've agreed to it. And you, Naruto, I have full faith in. You both are excellent fighters, the best this place has seen in a long time. It'd be nothing short of horrendous for your talent to be wasted." The old man counseled. "Of course, the only thing left is for you two to accept." He finished with a smirk.

"Why not?" Naruto shrugged after regaining his senses. "Sounds fun enough."

"Dammit, Naruto…" Raimi sighed. "You always jump into things head first."

"Only way to live, my lady." He smirked and winked at her.

"I guess…" She blushed. "I guess I'm in as well."

"Very good!" Leo beamed. "Now, don't worry, your jobs won't start until you're both sixteen, so live up these last few weeks."

"We will, Father." Naruto once again smiled as their audience began cheering once again.

"Alright, let's give them some space!" Leo barked out to the crowd. "Back to business as usual, people."

"You heard 'em!" One random villager agreed. "We all got jobs to get back to, so let's hop to it!"

As the crowd began to disperse, Naruto and Raimi went for their sparring weapons and promptly picked them up, then started in the direction of the guard barracks to return them.

"Us, a part of the guard?" Naruto summed up what had just happened.

"Not glorious work…" Raimi admitted with a shrug. "But at least we have our jobs locked down early."

"Hey, maybe this way, word of us will get to the Khans quicker!" He eagerly offered. "Khan Basilio _must_ have a use for me somewhere!"

"Go to that oaf if you want." She scoffed. "I'm intending on going to Khan Flavia eventually."

"Why must we always be polar opposites?" He deadpanned.

"Because I like to annoy you." She childishly stuck her tongue out at him.

As Naruto opened his mouth to retaliate, they both heard a commotion coming from the alleyway next to them. Promptly, they shot off into said alley only to find a group of three boys bullying a girl, but not just any girl. This girl they both knew on a personal level and she happened to be their friend.

"Olivia!" Raimi yelled out.

"Get the hell away from her!" Naruto screamed as he dashed headlong at the three boys, wooden sword ready in hand.

"Book it!" The apparent leader of the group declared before his group of three dashed off in different directions… save for him.

"The hell is wrong with you?!" Naruto sharply asked the boy as he pulled the same move he pulled on Raimi earlier and slammed him back first into the dirt.

"P-Please!" The boy begged. "We ain't touched her no way! We were just horsin' around!"

"You were bullying her!" Raimi barked as Olivia took refuge behind her.

"And need I tell you how bad this looks?!" Naruto once again raged. "In an alley, away from prying eyes! What the fuck else were you going to do?! HUH?!"

"Nothin' else, mister! I swear!" The boy denied the implications fervently.

In response, Naruto picked the boy up with an audible snarl and slammed him back first against one of the alley walls. "If you or your crew ever… _ever_ so much as looks at her wrong again…" He lifted his wooden sword and whacked the wall just a few inches away from the boy's right ear. "I will _not_ miss next time."

Not even waiting for an answer, he unceremoniously tossed the boy back down to the ground, where he scrambled to his feet and shot off out of the alley, thoroughly terrified.

"R-Raimi…" Olivia sobbed as the blonde in question turned and hugged her. "T-Thank you…"

"Naruto was the one that saved you, Olivia." Raimi hugged the pinkette back. "You should really be thanking _him_."

"N-N-Naruto!" A heavier sob escaped her as she broke from Raimi's hug and ran straight into his waiting arms, immediately burying herself into the fabric of his shirt.

"They won't be bothering you anymore, Olivia." He softly whispered to her as he hugged her tightly. "I think I made my point."

"W-Why do they h-hate me?" She wailed. "What have I done?!"

"Not a thing." He shook his head. "They're the ones to blame, so instead of questioning what _you've_ done, question instead what _they've_ done or not done to end up so spiteful."

"I say they're just brats." Raimi huffed.

"They're jerks!" Olivia huffed as the tears finally stopped.

"That's probably the strongest word I've ever heard you use." Naruto managed a chuckle.

"N-Naruto…" She lightly whined as she buried her face back into his shirt to hide her blush.

"Stop teasing her, Naru." Raimi stepped in. "Get back to your parents, Olivia. Tell them what happened."

"R-Right…" It was subtle, but she lingered for just a short while in Naruto's grasp before she quickly wormed her way out and ran out of the alley.

"Gonna be a shame when she eventually leaves…" Raimi sighed.

"And here I was hoping that her folks would think about settling down here." Naruto returned the sigh. "You'd think that a travelling family troupe would need to plant roots at some point, but no."

"Hopefully that isn't for a long time yet." She lightly punched him on the shoulder. "Come on, we still have an entire day to kill."

 **(Three Years Later)**

"Naruto, my boy!" Leo called out to the young man before he had a chance to exit the house.

"Yes, Father?" Naruto politely asked as he walked into the kitchen of the house they shared.

"Before you head out for the day, let me have a look at you, son." He smiled as he gestured for the boy to stand closer.

Before him stood not the boy he had all but raised for the past five years, but a man of eighteen, going on nineteen. His hair was still a spiky mess of blonde and was grown out a bit (Like Minato's hair), he had grown taller, now topping out at 5'11" and had a build of lean muscle that benefitted his speed-oriented fighting style yet could still stand up strongly against any man who tried him.

His attire consisted of a rust orange short-sleeved shirt and black pants held up by a leather belt/harness combo. Along his left arm were hardened leather armor segments with a steel bracer covering his arm from wrist to elbow, black fingerless gloves on both hands that had reinforced steel knuckles, a hardened black leather vest which matched the segments on his arm, hardened black leather boots which his pant legs were tucked into and a hooded black bear fur cloak topped off his ensemble which was clasped together by a silver clasp and draped over his shoulders.

Held within the sheathe on his left hip was a finely made katana which he forged himself. It was made of a high-quality steel and had orange wrappings over a black leather, a black steel pommel and a matching black steel guard that had the Uzumaki clan swirl carved into it and highlighted in orange. It sat within a black sheathe that had an image of a stylized fox's gaping maw carved around the mouth of the hilt and orange flames licking the end of it. Lastly within the pouches on his belt were kunai and shuriken, which he also forged himself, and a few other essentials if he were caught on the road and had to camp.

"You look so much like a man now, my boy." Leo beamed with a smile. "I just hope your time here has been more to your liking than your time with the monks in Chon'sin."

"At least we could handle the bandit attacks here." Naruto smirked, joking at his made up origins story.

"Indeed." The old man chuckled. "Khan Basilio knows how to pick his soldiers, I'll give him that."

"Speaking of…" He suddenly turned serious.

"So… you've heard of Khan Flavia reaching out to Raimi, then?"

"Yeah." Naruto nodded. "It's what she's wanted for a long time, but…"

"She's your friend." Leo nodded sagely. "And no doubt you're wondering if Khan Basilio will be reaching out to you."

"If he even knows I exist." The blonde scoffed.

"Word will reach him of you eventually. You're too good to just laze around here for the rest of your days."

"Which is why…" Naruto began, but stopped himself short.

"You know you can speak to me freely, son." Leo gently pressed.

"I'm thinking about leaving." Naruto admitted with a sigh. "Starting up my own group, trying the mercenary life, picking up jobs where I can find them while also spreading my name across Ferox."

"It's your life son." Leo smiled. "You're well past the point where you can look after yourself. If that's what you wish, then you'll have my support, as always."

"What did I ever do to earn such kindness?" Naruto asked as he went to hug his father figure.

"You're special, son." Leo returned the hug after standing from his chair. "I've seen that, I've known that from the day you wandered into this place. You're meant for bigger things." He paused only to break the hug and stare at his 'son'. "And what kind of Dad would I be if I didn't see you through to your dreams?"

"Thank you, Father." Naruto bit out, suppressing the oncoming tears.

"Now." He patted the blonde's shoulders. "There's gonna be a farewell celebration tonight for Raimi. I assume you're gonna be there?"

"As soon as my shift ends." Naruto nodded. "Hopefully we'll get to say bye to Olivia as well. She's leaving today, is she not?"

"Sadly, yes." It was Leo's turn to sigh. "It seems all of our bright stars are all up and leaving us."

"That's what we're raised to do, no? Grow up, then leave?"

"Aye, lad. It's a part of life." He then sharply turned his son around and began pushing him towards the door. "Now, your shift begins shortly, don't wanna be late!"

"Yes, sir!" Naruto dashed forward and opened the door. "See you at the party tonight!" He called after Leo as he shut the door and took to the streets.

"About time you woke up." A familiar voice called out to him.

He turned on the spot to see Raimi standing before him, dressed in the heaviest armor that the town guard had available, which was just a meager suit of steel armor that was highlighted blue. Despite the armor, Naruto could still see the curves of her body and the chestpiece adequately hid her buxom, as she intended because she didn't want any distractions on the battlefield. Strapped diagonally against her back was her now steel lance, as well as a couple of javelins. Her hair was still the short blonde that she had become iconic around the village for as a sort of tomboy.

"You know me." He shot his signature smirk at her. "Always fashionably late."

"You _need_ to fix that, Naru." She snorted, then punched him in the shoulder. "Olivia's waiting for us near the gates."

"That time already, huh?" He asked as they began walking.

"She's stalled for as long as she can." Raimi sighed in frustration. "She's been waiting for us for a little while now."

"She's seventeen, she can look after herself!" Naruto growled. "Or better yet, _we_ can look after her!"

" _You_ can look after her." Raimi corrected. "Like it or not, Khan Flavia herself has asked for me. I'm gone by the morning."

"I know." He bitterly sighed. "I might be as well."

"How did Leo take the news?"

"How do you think?" He snorted. "He's always been supportive of me, even though I'm not his son, just a stray he picked up off the streets."

"He's always regarded you as the son he never had, Naru." Raimi took his hand into hers and softly squeezed. "He cares about you and only wants the best for you. If that means letting you go so you can fulfil your dreams, then that's what he's gonna do."

"I know." He squeezed her hand back. "It's just that he's been so good to me… and now, I'm just going to leave."

"We all have to leave sooner or later, Naru." Their fingers interlocked with each other's.

"I guess we do…" He squeezed her hand harder.

"Naruto!' A voice called out. "Raimi!" Their hands untwined as fast as you could blink.

"Olivia!" Naruto called back to her with a smile as she ran up to him and into his arms, pink locks flaring out in all directions as he picked her up by her hips and spun her around.

"N-Naruto, stop!' She tried to protest, but her giggling belied her seriousness.

"Put her down, Naru." Raimi herself managed a small laugh as she lightly reprimanded her companion.

"Alright, alright." He chuckled as he put the pinkette down, then noticed the backpack she was sporting. "So… you really _are_ leaving…"

"Y-Yeah…" Her gaze was cast downwards. "Mother and Father wish to move on, saying we've spent too much time in one place. As much as I want to stay here… I can't. You're being hired by a Khan, Raimi, and you're going to go off adventuring, Naruto…" She then looked up at them both. "It seems all three of us have our separate ways to go…"

"Father would be more than willing to take you in, Olivia." Naruto suggested.

"I can't impose." She shook her head. "Besides, I may not like it, but my place is with my parents and our troupe."

"Then…" Raimi took in a breath. "Then we wish you all the best."

"We always have and we always will." Naruto agreed with a smile.

"I'm…" She teared up and shot forward into their arms. "I'm going to miss you two…"

"We'll miss you as well, Olivia." Raimi whispered soothingly to her. "Just promise us to take care of yourself out there."

"And if you need _anything_ , go and find Raimi." Naruto looked her in the eyes. "She's the one who has connections to Khan Flavia, if anyone could help you, it's her."

"I-I will…" She sniffled and dried her eyes. "I… I have to go now…"

"We'll see each other again." Naruto managed a smile. "I know we will."

After a slight hesitation, Olivia decided against whatever it was she was going to do and simply turned on her heel, then ran off towards the gates, never once looking back.

"She's not looking back." Naruto breathed. "She's… matured a lot."

"You think she'll be ok?" Raimi asked.

"With what I taught her about how to use a sword, she _should_ be alright, but…"

"You never know."

"Yeah…" He nodded, then began walking once again towards the barracks. "Time to go punch in."

"Right."

And they would have done just that had they not caught a glimpse of a curious sight on their way into the barracks. In the town square stood a man maybe a few months older than Naruto with a katana sheathed at his hip and his arms resting casually at his sides. The man had short messy brown hair and an intense look in his eyes, a look that screamed danger to Naruto, who halted his walk to the barracks to confront the stranger, with Raimi backing him up.

"Can I help you?" Naruto called out to the man.

"My name is Lon'qu." The now identified Lon'qu introduced himself. "Who whom am I speaking?"

"Naruto Uzumaki and Raimi Laurentia, Captain and Lieutenant of the town guard respectively."

"State your business, please." Raimi demanded, a hand slowly making its way over to her lance.

"I seek this town's most skilled swordsman." Lon'qu stated. "I wish to test myself against him or her."

"Is that a fact?" Naruto smirked.

"Naruto, no." Raimi tried to stomp out the idea, but it was too late.

"Well, it just so happens that you're looking at him, Lon'qu." He brushed off Raimi's warnings and instead unclasped his cloak.

"You will suffice." He simply stated once again as he walked just a few paces away, hand resting on the hilt of his katana.

"Be a dear and hold this for me." Naruto tossed his cloak over Raimi's head.

"Fuck you!" She screamed at him as she flipped him off while ridding herself of her impromptu blindfold.

"Later." He smirked and winked at her. "Alright, people, clear an area!" He ignored the heated blush on her face. "We have a traveler here who's a wandering swordsman! And I've just been challenged!"

"Kick his ass, Naruto!" Yelled out one villager as a perimeter was formed around the duo.

"Show no mercy!"

"Send 'em packing!"

"Take him down, Captain!"

The praises from the villagers and guardsmen filled the air as Naruto took his place in front of Lon'qu just a few yards away from him.

"Terms?" He asked.

"First blood." Lon'qu supplied the terms

"Very well." Naruto nodded and promptly settled into an Iaido stance, his right hand hovering gently over the hilt of his katana.

Lon'qu mirrored this action, expertly hiding his respect for the blonde in front of him for using Iaido. As both men settled into their stances, the gathered crowd quieted down in the face of the now epic stare down. Both Naruto and Lon'qu knew that the slightest movement would be the provocation, which meant that the person who moved first would most likely lose. So there they sat as the minutes ticked by, stone-faced and still as a statue. It was a waiting game, it was a battle of wills, of patience… and it was engrossing to watch.

As Raimi looked on, she was amazed at the restraint Naruto was showing now. She had never seen him this still before; she had never seen him this calm before. Apparently there was some hidden facet of this showdown that she had missed. Either way, she was impressed. And then she blinked and the two men had traded places with their katanas drawn. As time seemed to catch up with them, a small scratch appeared on Naruto's right forearm and likewise a scratch opened up on Lon'qu's left cheek.

"What…" Raimi gasped. "What… just…"

"A draw." Lon'qu chuckled as he wiped away the thin trail of blood coming from the superficial cut on his cheek

"You're the first person I've met that can match my speed." Naruto also chuckled as he tended to his also superficial wound. "Well done." He commended the man with a nod.

"Praise be to you as well, Naruto." Lon'qu slightly smiled as he extended his right hand after sheathing his blade. "You are a swordsman of worth, someone I can safely say I respect."

"If that's the case, I'm forming my own team. I'm not exactly recruiting just yet, but you would honor me if you'd be the first of my band." He offered as he shook the other man's hand.

"A mercenary band?" Lon'qu questioned.

"More or less." Naruto shrugged. "We'd be traveling the land taking jobs from people willing to pay and probably running across other talented swordsmen."

"This… is an adequate way to test myself." Lon'qu nodded. "I shall join."

"Very good!" Naruto smiled. "Then I suppose you'd have no issue attending my comrade's farewell party tonight?" He then gestured to Raimi.

"…" Lon'qu seemed to freeze upon laying eyes on Raimi.

"Lon'qu?" Naruto waved a hand over his face.

"Keep her away from me, and I shall attend." He finally said.

"… Huh?"

 **(Later that night: At the party)**

"I had no idea you were scared of women!" Naruto laughed over the sound of the bards plying their trade and the overall celebration.

"Leave me alone!" Lon'qu blushed at the accusation. "It's bad enough I'm attending this farce, but you would insult my insecurities on top of it?!"

"Calm down!" Naruto chuckled through his apology. "I meant nothing by it. Now come on, live it up! You haven't even touched your mead!"

"I don't drink alcohol. It dulls your senses." Lon'qu shook his head and pushed the tankard away.

"Can't be serious all the time!" Naruto pushed. "Sometimes you just gotta let go!"

"The day that I 'let go' will be the day I get married!"

"And I shall be there to cheekily remind you of this declaration!"

Another laugh escaped the blonde at Lon'qu's expense as he took another gulp or two of his tankard of mead, then took a bite of the bread on his plate. The celebration was in full swing at this point and it honestly felt refreshing to see everyone let loose. His guardsmen friends and underlings the ones making the most noise, and he wouldn't be the one to spoil his charges their fun. Then there were the regular village folk who were happy just to have a day set aside for revelries.

"Naruto!" One of the guardsmen called out to him over the music. "Raimi's looking for ya!"

"Where is she?" Naruto yelled back after another bite of his bread.

"Outside in the back courtyard!"

"If you excuse me…" Naruto smirked at his newest comrade. "I have to rescue Raimi. She _hates_ parties like this."

"I can relate…" Lon'qu grumbled as he new blonde friend walked off.

As he passed through the double doors leading out to the back courtyard of the village community house, he was completely unaware of said doors being closed behind him, nor was he aware that two of his guardsmen took up positions at the doors so as to not let anyone through. His focus was solely on Raimi, who was leaning against the rail of the small balcony which overlooked the ice-covered lake the village was built around. It was a cloudless night and the moon hung big and full in the air, accompanied by all of its stars.

As he slowly approached, his eyes already wide at the picture perfect backdrop, she turned and smiled at him. The light of the moon caught her just right and lit up her smile in an almost ethereal light. Despite her rather simple clothing, she was radiating her own kind of beauty, a beauty in which Naruto was now enthralled by. His mouth went dry, he tried to speak, but no words came out. As he continued to try to speak, a soft finger pressed against his lips.

"Don't talk." She softly cooed. "Tonight, I want us to be real with each other."

"R-Real?" He finally asked, his eyes still widened.

"I'm leaving in the morning, and so will you." She didn't even attempt to hide her blush. "If this is our last night together, I want it to be something we'll both remember."

"Raimi…" He now understood what she was suggesting. "I don't want to endanger what we have…"

"That's what I love about you, you idiot…" She chuckled. "Humble when it counts, boisterous, cocky to a fault… yet at the same time the most caring and considerate man I've ever known. We've danced around each other for years now… I want us to be real… at least for one night."

He could see her green eyes lit up with desperation. She _wanted_ this. She actually wanted this. He knew full well that they had been dancing around the subject, and he knew that they both didn't want to hurt their friendship. But their relationship was the only loose end between them that they couldn't leave untied.

After taking in a nervous breath, Naruto gently cupped her cheek and leaned into her, where she immediately closed her eyes out of reflex. Suddenly, her breath hitched when their lips finally made contact with each other. It was soft, it was gentle, he was taking his time… and already driving her crazy. She flung her arms over his shoulders as he deepened the kiss and placed a hand on her hip. As the seconds ticked by, she moved her hands from the back of his neck to the clasp of his cloak and unclasped it, where it sprawled to the ground neatly… and this is where she got aggressive.

After Naruto's cloak hit the ground, she deepened the kiss further and began to grind her right knee against his crotch, enticing a rumbling growl from him as he pulled away from this kiss for air with half-lidded eyes. Both were breathing heavily and the look in Raimi's eyes was a predatory one. Slowly, she brushed past him and lowered herself onto the fabric of his discarded cloak, teasingly untying the top part of her shirt so a tantalizing view of her cleavage would peek out at him.

Failing to resist her temptations, Naruto gently lowered himself on top of her and resumed the make out session while grabbing a handful of her breast with his right hand through the fabric of her shirt, which got her to moan into the kiss. Again, said kiss was momentarily interrupted when she lifted his shirt off of him and used that moment to flip their positions. As Naruto stared up at her, she removed her own shirt, exposing her rather impressive 32D mounds to the cold Feroxian air.

Everything just felt _right_ at this moment for them both. They both knew that this night would be their only night to show their love for each other. And as they took their relationship further, the many lewd sounds and curses of their ferocious lovemaking were drowned out by the raging party inside the community house. As Raimi threw her head back and howled out his name to the high heavens, she barely registered herself letting go of her own cleavage or haphazardly dismounting him to cuddle beside him.

"I love you…" She breathlessly whispered to him. "I love you so much." She clutched desperately at him in their after sex glow.

"I love you, too…" Naruto, equally breathless, returned the sentiment as he wrapped an arm around her frame and merely held her.

As she drifted off into sleep, little did she know that those four words would be the last she'd ever speak to him, as when she'd eventually wake up in her own bed in the morning, he was already gone.

Naruto Uzumaki, the love of her life and the boy she was going to leave, left her instead. He always had to one up her in some way, but in this instance, she didn't feel the usual humor of the situation… all she felt was alone.

He had left her, and he'd most likely never see her again…

… Oh, how wrong she was.

 **AN: Naruto with the girl who will eventually become the Chapter 3 Boss at the Longfort? How could I resist?! And he has a personal connection to Olivia and it seems Lon'qu has signed himself up to be another friend of the blonde maelstrom. Will he come to regret this decision? Is he already? What will happen with Olivia? What will happen with Raimi? Will Naruto get noticed by Basilio? Too many questions!**

 **If anyone's curious, if you had to give Naruto an in-game class, it'd be a cross between Fates' Ninja class and the Mercenary class. In other words, whenever I decide he's ready for his metaphorical Master Seal, he'd be a mix of Master Ninja and Swordmaster. Astra and Lethality, nuff said.**

 **Now, on the pairings front: The idea of Naruto x Lucina has been festering for a while and my muse is screaming for me to do it, but at the same time I've been considering waiting for Fates Until I pull the trigger on a relationship with Naruto. Who should Chrom end up with? I've been considering Olivia, but at the same time the prospect of Sumia's looking appealing as well. And as for Robin, I'm considering Cordelia if she doesn't end up with Naruto, or maybe even one of the future kids, maybe Severa?**

 **TL;DR, Chrom might end up with Olivia or Sumia, Robin with Cordelia or Severa and Naruto with either Cordelia, Lucina or will be waiting until Fates for his girl. But, as always, opinions are appreciated! Give me good, solid reasons for or against any of the Awakening girls or Fate girls if I do indeed wait for Naruto to get to that storyline!**

 **This is ZeroDivisionRaijin, signing off!**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm baaaaack! Sorry this one took so long, kiddies! I had to update my main storied first, couple that with a couple more new ideas and a bad case of writer's block and you might understand how desperate I was to update this one. So, I apologize for the delay, but here we are once again! Fair warning, there's another mini-lime at the end of this one!**

 **Chapter 3: Fate is a Bitch**

 _It was a very bad situation. The barrier separating them from the rest of the army was still up, people were dying left and right and there they were, all three of them trapped on the other side as their friends and family were slaughtered before them._

" _Hell of a situation you've gotten us into this time, Robin." Naruto chuckled as he brandished his katana. "You making a habit of getting us into impossible situations?"_

 _Robin frowned at the humor, though he knew it was Naruto's way of covering up his wilder emotions, his way of coping. Not five feet away from them laid the still warm corpse of his wife, slumped back against the purplish barrier after she tried busting her way through, only for a Grimleal to spear her from behind. Robin knew it was talking Naruto everything he had to even stand, let alone fight._

" _We're going to make this bastard pay for the blood he's spilt!" Chrom snarled as he readied Falchion._

" _As one." The feminine voice of the now female Robin called out as she nodded._

" _Wait, what?" Naruto whipped his head around to stare at the very feminine form of the person he KNEW was a man. "The fuck's going on here?!"_

" _Naruto!" Robin was a man again. "Keep your head in the game!"_

" _R-Right." Though hesitant, Naruto returned his focus to Validar as he stood before them._

" _Join me, my daughter!" Validar held out a hand._

 _Again, Naruto's head whipped to his left to find TWO Robins standing there, one a man and the other a woman._

 _This was when everything froze as a stinging sensation filled his gut. Looking down, he found a lightning spear shoved straight through him, and as he looked up he met the glowing red eyes of the female Robin, who was crying despite herself._

" _Forgive me, my love…" She sobbed out as she pressed her lips against his…_

… and with a start, he awakened from the nightmare he was just having. As he ran a shaky hand down his face, he tried desperately to recall just what in the _hell_ he was dreaming about, but for the life of him, he couldn't remember a single detail about the dream.

With a sigh, Naruto threw the covers of his bed off of himself and stood, quickly slipping into a rather simple black tunic, matching pants and some boots he found lying around his room. After dressing himself, he took his water skin, which was hanging from the back of one of the chairs in his room and took a generous couple of swallows of its contents, still covered in a sheen of cold sweat from his unknown nightmare.

"What the fuck was that…?" He muttered to himself after corking his water skin. "And why can't I remember anything about it?"

A couple of solid knocks at his door broke him out of his train of thought. After setting his water skin back down, he trailed over to the door and opened it with a slight creak to reveal Lon'qu.

"I wasn't sure you'd be awake." Lon'qu admitted through a slight smirk.

"Bad dream." Naruto brushed it off. "Anything happening for you to come get me at such an hour?"

"Our Lord Khan is scheduled to appear at a banquet today." Lon'qu nodded. "Khan Basilio requests that we be there with him, both as his bodyguards and so we can get a day off."

"A day off sounds mighty fine to me." Naruto smiled as he walked back into his room and began equipping himself properly. "I assume the banquet will be held here?"

"Aye." He nodded once again. "Sounds simple enough, but one can never be too careful."

"Khan Basilio is respected in plenty of circles; no one would dare move against him." He continued equipping himself.

"Still, better we be there, no?" Lon'qu grunted while leaning against the doorframe, his arms crossed over his chest.

"Will Olivia be there?" Naruto questioned as he inspected his katana.

"She should." Lon'qu once again nodded affirmative. "She still owes a debt of gratitude to our Lord Khan, after all."

"Remember that it was I who dueled for her honor." He pointed out as he strapped his katana to his left hip. "Khan Basilio was the one who allowed her to return with us."

"I have not forgotten." A wry smirk then settled upon Lon'qu's normally stoic face. "And neither has she."

"Stop trying to set me up with her, dammit!" He glared at his friend. "She's practically a little sister to me!"

Having been four years since he left his home village, both he and Lon'qu had since been recognized by Basilio. Lon'qu served as Basilio's left hand and administrative assistant while Naruto was his right hand and was recognized as his designated champion and Captain of the Guard. Both shared the responsibility of leading the Feroxian army and both were held in high esteem throughout Ferox as a whole; Naruto more so, as when he took over as Basilio's champion, he had never once lost a fight and was responsible for Basilio's long reign as Head Khan.

After checking himself over with a satisfied nod, Naruto began his trek through the halls of the castle with Lon'qu falling into step beside him. His attire now consisted of a dark orange short-sleeved shirt, black pants that had metal plates reinforcing the knees, reinforced black leather boots, a pair of black fingerless gloves with steel bracers covering both arms from wrist to roughly the elbow area, a leather vest that was currently open and a reinforced studded leather hooded black duster over top of it all that stopped just a couple inches above his ankles and the hood appeared to curve inwards on itself until it made the vague shape of a hawk's beak if it were drawn up.

A new katana sat sheathed inside his old sheathe; this katana was of better make than his last one, appeared to have a silver blade and it had a silver fox's head as its pommel, black wrappings over a dark orange ray skin interior, a black steel guard that was shaped into what appeared to be a hurricane-like design and a fuller that spanned nearly the entire length of the blade. His utility belt was still stocked with whatever he needed and he had forged a new set of kunai and shuriken should he need them, all of better make than their predecessors. Finally, sitting horizontally in its sheathe upon his lower back was a tanto of similar make to the katana that had a steel blade, red wrappings around its grip and a black pommel.

"Is it wise for us to hold a banquet this close to the tournament?" Naruto asked as he walked.

"While I share your skepticism, it's not our place to criticize Khan Basilio." Lon'qu sighed. "If he wants to appear uncaring, let him, but don't question him."

"I wouldn't be here if I did." He chuckled. "I like a good fight, but you couldn't pay me enough to take him on."

"I still wonder, however, what action he'll take against the Ylessian raiders." A slight growl made it into the man's voice.

"Exalt Emmeryn's been nothing but a pacifist for the longest time." Naruto hummed as he went into a thinking pose while walking. "For her to just suddenly switch gears like this is very suspicious."

"Then the raiders might _not_ be Ylissean?" Lon'qu cut a sideways glance to his friend.

"Highly unlikely, but still possible." Naruto shrugged. "Especially if the rumors are true and Prince Chrom is at their head. Unlike his sister, I've heard he's more militant, though not to the radically extreme like their Father was."

"All hearsay until we get solid proof, at any rate." Lon'qu nodded at the assessment. "Come what may, Ferox shall not fall. Not while I breathe."

"Been a long time since I've had to duel anyone, though." Naruto smirked as he stretched. "I could use a workout; here's hoping some daft fool decides to test me."

As they rounded the last corner and stepped into the throne room, both Naruto and Lon'qu raised an eyebrow when they saw a masked man speaking to Basilio, who was lazing upon his throne. As they walked, Naruto saw Lon'qu straighten up a bit out of the corner of his eye, and upon seeing this, he eyed their guest with a critical and appraising gaze.

Despite how 'he' tried to carry 'himself', one 'he' turned to face them and began walking their way, Naruto's keen eyes spotted a subtle sway to _her_ hips. Truly, without Lon'qu and his gynophobia, he would have never been clued in and he would have gone on ignorant of this woman's secret. Still, it was a secret and she probably had a reason for hiding her identity and true gender, so he'd leave well enough alone.

"Is this him, my lord Khan?" The woman asked.

"About time you got his lazy ass up, Lon'qu." Basilio sighed as he rose from his throne. "Yes, that's him."

"So, to whom do I have the honor of speaking?" Naruto regarded her.

"You may call me Marth." The now identified Marth offered a polite bow.

"As in the Hero-King of old?" Another eyebrow was raised. "So, you're from Ylisse? Or did your folks just _really_ idolize the old bugger?"

"Please, dispense with the pleasantries." Marth held up a hand. "Might I have your name?"

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto returned the bow. "Champion of Head Khan Basilio, Captain of his Palace Guard and general of his armies."

"You do me honor, sir." Marth nodded. "Indeed, you are the reason why I have trekked many a mile through Feroxian snowstorms."

"Indeed?" Now he was intrigued. "And why, may I ask, am I of any interest to you?"

"I wish to challenge you, sir." Marth declared, and though Naruto couldn't see it, he was pretty sure she was giving him the hardest glare through her mask. "I wish to become Khan Basilio's new Champion."

"I tried telling him it's a fool's errand." Basilio piped up with a shrug. "No skin off of my teeth, though. I get to witness a fight either way."

"And I get to participate either way." Naruto shared his Khan's shrug. "Alright, Marth." He smirked wickedly, his blue eyes shining with clear excitement. "You got yourself a duel."

"Today, or shall you need time to prepare?" Lon'qu asked as he motioned for a few of the guards over.

"Today, please." Marth kept her gaze dead set on the blonde.

"You heard him." Lon'qu voiced to the summoned guards. "Prepare the arena."

"Yes, General!" They all voiced their compliance before scattering off to carry out their orders.

In short order, the modestly sized arena that was built into Basilio's castle was prepared and the contestants were already staring each other down, weapons in hand. Upon entering the arena, the magical wards that were set into the very stone coated their weapons in an aura which effectively blunted them so as to not cause permanent harm; the very same wards were set into Arena Ferox for the same reasons.

"Nice sword." Naruto complimented as he lazily held his katana in his right hand. "Fine craftsmanship, I can tell from here."

"My thanks." Marth inclined her head at the compliments as she held her blade in both her hands, ready for anything in complete contrast to her opponent's seeming lack of defense.

"Well, I suppose we should fight now, no?" He sighed, seemingly bored. "Do try to put up a decent defense for me, will you?"

Before she could even blink, Marth was beset by her blonde opponent in a flurry of blows that seemed to come from all angles, though her defense held up and she was able to either block or parry most of the strikes. After parrying the final strike upwards, she flipped her grip on her sword around to a reverse grip and tried to bring it down across his chest, only for him to lean to his right out of the way of the strike as the sword impacted against the stone floor. As Naruto dashes in, katana poised for a strike against her neck, Marth suddenly swiped upwards with her sword, sending fragments and particles of stone into his eyes.

As he stumbled backwards cursing up a storm and rubbing his irritated eyes with his free hand, he instinctually brought his katana up to block a downwards swing from his female opponent, then parried the sword downwards and lashed out with a straight right heel kick that he reinforced with a bit of Chakra, sending Marth skidding straight back as she tried to halt her backwards momentum. After ridding himself of the irritants, Naruto blinked a few more times to readjust his vision and smirked.

"Underhanded trick, but I applaud you for it." He said, still smirking as he spun his katana in his right hand with a flourish. "And it seems you're pretty handy with a blade as well."

"Your speed is remarkable as well." Marth smiled, despite the pain in her gut from the kick. "Never have I seen someone so fast on their feet, nor have I seen instincts such as yours before; blocking a strike while blind? Astounding!"

"Then allow me to show you more!"

And with that declaration, Naruto flashed in front of her once again, aiming for a stab at her midsection, which Marth brought her blade down upon to smack it out of the way. Using the momentum of that smack, Naruto spun the blade back upwards and grabbed it by the guard with both hands this time, slicing downwards with the remaining momentum from both the smack and spin.

But, before Marth could even block it, he disappeared in a burst of speed, reappearing behind her while preparing to drag his blunted katana across her back, only for Marth to roll forward out of harm's way. Upon standing from her roll, she hefted her blade up and threw it in a spinning horizontal arc at her opponent, where Naruto simply batted it upwards, sending it flying into the air, where surprisingly, Marth had leapt high, grabbed the blade in a flawless catch and was now descending upon him, a downwards slash ready.

Time seemed to flow in slow motion as he stared up at her. Using his free hand, he pulled up the hood of his duster while sheathing his katana with his right hand, then crouched into a stance, left hand gripping the sheathe and the right hovering just above the grip of his weapon. Down and down she fell, eyes slowly widening when she saw that stance he was in… as if she could recognize it?

The sound of a sword leaving its sheathe then echoed throughout the arena as Naruto brought his katana out of its sheathe at speeds Marth was unable to track, dashed upwards to meet her and delivered one solid slice from her left collarbone down to her right hip. With pain now shooting through her entire body, she lost her grip on her sword and impacted against the ground in a heap.

As she took in a few breaths, she glanced upwards to find that her sword was just a few feet away from her, but as she reached for it, she felt the tip of a blade against the base of her skull.

"You died with that first slice, and you've died again here." Naruto's suddenly cold voice broke the silence. "I win."

"It…" She paused for a cough as the pain began to subside. "It seems I've been bested…"

"You put up a good fight, though." As soon as he pulled his hood back down, he smirked. "Best fight I've had in a long time. Not every day I come across someone with your skill."

"You very handily beat me, though." She shakily stood after retrieving her sword and sheathing it. "If this were a true battle, I would have died twice over." She turned to face him, a deep frown upon her face. "I need more practice if I am to ever match you."

"If you wish, I could show you a few things." His smirk never failed. "It's the least I could do; after all, you _did_ manage to make me use my Iaido skills."

"I don't wish to impose…" She hesitated.

"Nonsense!" He threw an arm around her shoulder. "I'd be more than happy to!"

"T-Then I have no choice but to accept." She finally smiled once again… and was she blushing?

"That means you're leaving the prep work for the banquet squarely on my shoulders…" Lon'qu bitterly sighed as he arrived from his spot in the stands. "Very well, go have fun."

"I'll pay you back some way, Lon'qu." Naruto clasped a hand upon his shoulder, then motioned for his female guest to follow him. "Come on, I know a good spot."

Once they were out of earshot of both Lon'qu and Basilio, Naruto regarded his compatriot as they walked. "So, wanna tell me why you're hiding your gender?"

"… So, you know." Marth sighed. "I had a feeling you would find me out."

"Look, your reasons are your own, so you don't have to satisfy my curiosity if you don't want to." He explained. "Though it _would_ be nice to get to know the woman I'm going to train."

"My reasons are a tad bit complicated, I'm afraid." She went on. "Even if I were to tell you, you wouldn't understand."

"You might be surprised." He heartily chuckled. "My story is also complicated, you see, so I may be able to help you with whatever has you disguising yourself like this."

"I doubt it." She shook her head. "There are just a very few people who know my true story, and the less who know, the better."

"Sounds like you're just running away from something." He kept his eyes forward. "I know that kind of story well enough to relate. You feel like there's something that only you can achieve, so you keep everyone at arm's length because you know that at any moment your destiny could come calling." As he continued, he began to frown. "You think that this destiny or this calling is dangerous enough to warrant a mask and an alias; you think that if you become someone else then it'll be easier for everyone, including yourself, when your destiny is at hand. You're essentially dehumanizing yourself for the sake of others."

"You don't know a _thing_ about me!" She suddenly hissed as she stopped in her tracks. "Don't pretend to analyze me; don't think for a moment that you could _ever_ understand me, what I've been through! What I've _LOST!_ "

"The thing is…" He chuckled as he turned to face her. "I understand you perfectly. Our circumstances may be different, and probably are, but I can understand the pain of loss."

' _You don't understand!'_ Marth was mentally screaming at herself while trying to keep everything together. _'I'm here to save your future! I can't let you die; not again!'_

"I lost my entire world once already." He admitted with a sad smile, shocking Marth out of her thoughts. "There's no way to get back to it now, so I've dedicated myself to the task of ensuring the survival of this one… I will _not_ lose my home a second time."

"… I lost mine to." She said, her voice a ghost of a whisper. "It was destroyed, and I came back here, hoping to fix it all."

"See?" He smiled. "Our stories are similar enough that we can understand each other. Now, 'Marth', how about you tell me what your real name is and we start over from the beginning?"

In response, Marth slowly slipped off her mask and opened her eyes, where blue met their fellow blue in an entrancing gaze. "Lucina." She spoke. "My name's Lucina."

"Naruto Uzumaki." Naruto reintroduced himself, smile never dropping. "A pleasure, my Lady."

"Naruto…" His name on her lips finally brought her to tears. "Naruto!" She shot forward into his waiting arms and began sobbing into the fabric of his duster.

With confirmation that she was a time traveler, he equated this outburst of emotion to her seeing him again, most likely alive rather than dead. He wouldn't pressure her for any more info; she was unstable enough as it was without more prodding… and he'd keep her secret. He doubted she'd tell his, so he'd return the favor.

"Come on, Lucina." He gently nudged her. "Let's get you to someplace a bit more private than a hall in the middle of the castle…"

Incapable of trusting her voice, Lucina merely nodded and allowed herself to be led through the winding halls of the castle until they reached his room, where she took a seat in one of his chairs after having calmed down.

"I've troubled you enough for one day." Naruto nervously scratched the back of his head. "And Lon'qu really does need my help setting the banquet up, so…"

"Please, stay." She offered with a smile. "There's so much I have to ask you; I never got the chance to in the future. You must have plenty of amazing stories!"

"Huh…" He hummed. "Only fair, I guess. I sort of did guilt trip you into admitting your secret…" Again, he scratched the back of his head, but sat across from her regardless.

For hours they sat there, merely talking, laughing and learning more about one another. Naruto was careful to not ask anything to poignant while Lucina fired off question after question with reckless abandon and obvious excitement, as if she were a little girl, hanging onto his every word. Even when it was time for the banquet to begin, he had their food and drink brought to them so they could dine in his quarters and talk without interruption. Going on midnight was when the mead and ale began to take effect upon them after having eaten their fill.

"So, when he walks in, the eraser plonked him on the head!" Naruto finished his story while stifling a laugh, then took a sip of his flagon of mead.

"This Kakashi fellow seemed like an elite!" Lucina huffed and drank a portion of her own mead. "How could he have fallen for something so simple?!"

"That's what I said!" He exclaimed with another laugh. "And all he did afterwards was pick it up and told the three of us that he hated us!"

"And with reason!" She slammed her cup down upon the table. "That was a horrible prank!"

"Oh, and you could do better?" He challenged with a light growl.

"I would, but…" She drank the last of her mead and attempted to stand. "I'm going to retire for the night."

"Lightweight." He scoffed.

"Excuse me, but I'm—whoa!" In the middle of her sentence she lost her footing, apparently being a bit more drunk than she would have liked to admit.

In the split second that she began falling, Naruto was there to catch her before she hit the ground. "I gotcha!"

"My hero…" She drunkenly swooned, then broke into a fit of giggles which Naruto very quickly joined in on. As he laughed, Lucina glanced up at him and began blushing a bit deeper than the alcohol first made her. "My hero is… very handsome…"

"And my lady is very beautiful." He returned the compliment smoothly, despite his inebriated state.

"Your lady is also not helpless." She quickly regained her footing and solidly planted her hands upon both his shoulders. "And your lady is thinking very, _very_ impure thoughts right now…"

"Such as…?" Naruto huskily whispered into her ear.

"Primal…" She leaned up into him and pressed their lips together in a heated kiss, then broke it just as quickly. "Hot…" Again, they locked lips, this time with her assisting him in removing her cloak and top. "Mindless…" She mumbled into their make-out session after removing his shirt in turn, then fell backwards onto his bed. " _Fucking_ …" She breathlessly moaned as his hands began roaming over her body, touching areas she didn't even know were sensitive.

His deft hands soon went to work unbuckling her belt and with one downwards tug, her pants and panties had been removed in one go. In turn, she helped work him out of the remainder of his own clothes, their bodies on autopilot, their minds hazy with both booze and lust. As she unhooked her bra, she leaned up and captured his lips once again, pressing her low C-cups into his chest as she did so until he forced her back down, broke the kiss and took a moment to marvel at her naked form below him, her pale skin basked in the candle light of his room, the hot red blush upon her cheeks, the look she gave him as she lifted her right hand to caress his left cheek as their blue eyes met in a final moment of clarity.

"Take me." She simply said.

And what followed were the many curses, moans, screams and lewd sounds that accompanied their indeed primal lovemaking which culminated with Lucina screaming out his name upon her fifth high, upon which Naruto lost all control of himself and buried himself within her, their eyes closed, their lips locked together as they both rode out their respective highs together until he had spent himself of everything he had within her very being.

As he pulled himself out of her, he collapsed beside her and began heaving for air. "My lady knows how to ride, it seems."

"This was my first time riding something that wasn't a horse, pegasus or wyvern." She giggled as she snuggled into his warm embrace, still high on both the booze and the euphoria that was the mind-blowing sex they just had.

"Then my lady is very gifted in the arts of riding." He also chuckled, the seriousness of the situation flying completely over his head, as he too was still drunk.

"Too tired for more, though." She yawned as she laid her head upon his shoulder. "Need some sleep now."

"No argument from me…" He closed his eyes and very quickly drifted off into a blissful sleep.

With the morning came the sunshine, and with the sunshine came a hangover. As the sun peeked through the windows and into his room, Naruto groaned as he opened his eyes.

' _Kurama, mind doing something about this hangover?'_ He inwardly asked his tenant.

" **Already on it, Kit."** Kurama's voice answered back. **"I want you awake and fully alert for this."** He cut off the link with a chuckle.

Not knowing what he meant, Naruto contentedly sighed when he felt the headache dissipating… and then exclaimed in surprise when he felt something move in the bed. As he shot to his feet, he got a _very_ good look at a very naked Lucina as she began to stir from her sleep.

On Lucina's end, as soon as she forced her eyes to open, she saw an equally naked Naruto standing before her.

"Oh shit." They both said at the same time.

So, they had sex last night while they were both drunk. Not the end of the world, but still awkward nonetheless. What's the worst that could happen? It's not like he had banged a princess or anything.

That sixth sense in the back of Naruto's head began screaming at him as soon as that thought crossed his mind. What if he really _did_ bang a princess? What if she got pregnant? He'd have to answer to her Father, a King, most likely! No, she was no princess, and even if she was, she was a princess from the _future_. No harm done!

There was then a few good knocks at his door.

"Naruto!" It was Lon'qu once again. "Get dressed and get up; we have guests!"

"Who is it?" Naruto called back while keeping his eyes on Lucina… particularly her chest.

"It's Khan Flavia." Lon'qu answered.

"Time for the tournament, then?" He questioned.

"Aye, and she has her champion with her!"

' _Oh, no….'_ Lucina began to mentally panic. _'I had sex with the person who was to become HIS right hand and now he's here!'_

"Who's her champion; anyone we know?" Despite himself, Naruto broke a smirk.

"Prince Chrom of Ylisse!"

Somewhere, some time in an unknown location, Fate was now rolling around on the ground dying of laughter.

 **AN: Bang a princess from the future will you, Naruto? That's fine; all you have to do now is deal with her Dad!**

 **Interesting developments are on the horizon, now that Lucina's on the scene, and with Naruto about to take his first step into what will become his destiny, the story finally begins at last! So, what did you guys think of this one? Good? Bad? With my writer's block, I'm hoping this one turned out alright.**

 **Now, onto the pairings. As seen in this chapter, the possibility of having Robin be a girl is a possibility, so I want input from you guys: Should Robin be a girl, or should I stick to my notes and keep him a dude? If Robin turns out to be a girl, should she end up with Naruto or Chrom? And if he remains a dude, who should he end up with then? And what about Chrom? As for Naruto, obvious development with Lucina has been made and they've already had a one-night stand… but should that be it? Should Naruto and Lucina be a thing?**

 **At this point, it's between either Lucina, Cordelia or Tiki for me. I say Tiki because some good points have been brought up concerning her candidacy, so she's an option and I need you guys' input!**

 **In summation: Should Robin be a girl or a dude, who should he/she end up with, who should Chrom end up with and who should Naruto end up with between Lucina, Cordelia and Tiki?**

 **This is ZeroDivisionRaijin, signing off!**


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sudden inspiration once again! Here I am, kiddies, with the next chapter which wraps up the Ferox arc and begins the true story! Not much to say, other than onwards to the main event!**

 **Chapter 4: Wins, Losses, Future and Time**

"Arena Ferox…" Gasped a woman. "So grandiose…" She soon reined in her still slightly skittish pegasus as she clopped along

"Feroxian politics are centered around conflict." Pointed out one of the men who rode beside her. "It'd make sense for their colosseum to be as big as it is." He shifted upon his horse and seemed to crane his neck backwards, as if looking over his shoulder. "Chrom? You're lagging behind."

"Sorry, Robin." Chrom shook himself out of his reverie and spurred his own horse on to match pace with the now identified Robin. "I caught a glimpse of Khan Basilio's champion before we departed…" He sighed after stopping himself short.

"And?" Robin asked as he pulled his hood down to reveal short, messy silver hair and purple eyes that looked upon the Prince with curious worry. "I already have _my_ analysis of him, but what do _you_ think?"

"At only a glance, he seems quite the fighter." The Prince fixed his eyes forward, towards the approaching gates of Arena Ferox. "I have every confidence in my own prowess, but he radiates confidence and resonates with a power that I've never felt before."

"I've heard of him." Piped up a tomboyish redheaded woman wearing red plate armor. "Naruto Uzumaki, from Chon'sin. He ran a mercenary company that disbanded a couple years back when he and his top lieutenant were both handpicked by Khan Basilio to join his court."

"What's his track record like?" Chrom regarded the woman as she trotted up with her horse.

"No specifics, but I know he and his merc band were involved with a few high-profile jobs and were highly regarded among both the underworld and the legitimate channels." She continued. "I know that Naruto himself was personally involved in a number of duels with reasons ranging from honor to money and back again…" She paused for a frown. "There were even a couple of rivalries ended at sword point."

"Regis, Leonardo, Faust, Xavier and Katherine." The object of their conversation jaunted up on his black stallion. "Regis was a former member of my company who was dissatisfied with how I ran things, so he challenged me and failed. Leonardo was one of our benefactors who one day sent us on what we assumed was a legitimate lead, only for us to be ambushed by both him and a rival merc band headed up by Faust." Naruto's eyes flicked from the redhead to the Pegasus Knight. "We dealt with Faust and then I turned my katana on Leonardo when he opted for a last stand."

"Disgusting." The Pegasus Knight scowled.

"Xavier was Faust's brother who took exception to me killing his flesh and blood, so he challenged me to the customary duel. He joined his brother in the dirt." At the last name, Naruto actually cracked a smile as his eyes fell upon the Prince and Robin. "Katherine was the most memorable. She joined my company as a replacement for Regis and for a time really pulled her own weight… and eventually began to warm my bed on these cold, unforgiving Feroxian nights." He then sighed, though kept both hands on the reins of his horse. "Turns out she was an assassin sent by one of my many enemies that seduced her way into my good graces. After surviving a poisoned goblet, I took her on in my weakened state and still persevered, even with her toxin still flowing through me."

"And such brutality is what garnered the notice of Khan Basilio?" Chrom couldn't help but glare at the blonde riding beside him. "While I understand that these were duels and that most of them challenged you, it just seems so… ruthless of you."

"To so casually toss aside old allies, friendships and enemies alike." Robin shook his head. "Such ruthless efficiency is a trait to be feared for sure."

"The moment they turned their swords on me, they stopped being allies of mine." Naruto glared right back at the Prince. "I was betrayed once and by good grace and my own naïveté alone is the reason why he survived." His grip on the reins tightened and his stallion whinnied softly after feeling the emotions of his rider. "I swore on that day that I'd leave no spilt blood unpaid in kind nor any loose ends untied. Call me ruthless if you want; I'm long done being toyed with by those who claimed to be my 'friends'."

Immediately, Naruto spurred his stallion forward as they passed through the gates of Arena Ferox, craning his head backwards as he did so. "Look to your Shepherds, Prince Chrom! Any one of them could one day turn on you and the moment they do will be the moment you most need them!"

"I trust each and every one of my Shepherds with my life!" Chrom shouted back after the blonde, a fierce scowl marring his royal features. "Not one of them would ever betray my trust! They all have earned the right to stand with me as equals!"

"Then which one will taste defeat at my blade and lie prostrate at my feet come the end of the day?" Naruto returned the heat of the exchange. "I've _never_ lost a duel in the time that I've been in Khan Basilio's service and come commoner, knight or Prince, I will _not_ lose!"

As the blonde warrior rode off, all Chrom could do was stare at the person he would most likely be fighting for Feroxian support against Plegia. The uneasy feeling returned again, which had him growl in annoyance as he tore his gaze away from Naruto.

"This _boy_ seems an upstart, milord." Frederick spared a glance at Naruto also. "It would be my pleasure to teach him proper respect for foreign royalty."

"He's an arrogant sociopathic murderer as far as I'm concerned." Sumia huffed as her hateful eyes bore into the back of Naruto's head.

"He's been shaped by the circumstances he found himself in, Sumia." Robin counseled the young flier. "He has trust issues undoubtedly stemming from being betrayed by someone close to him. Would you claim to be the same person if Sully were to betray us right now by literally stabbing one of us in the back?"

"Hey!" Sully exclaimed indignantly.

"She would never—"

"But what if she _did_?" Robin pressed.

"I believe his methods are at the heart of Sumia's issue here." Chrom mediated. "While I don't particularly agree with them myself, it's not my place to pass judgement when I also have blood on my hands."

"Regardless…" Sully shrugged. "He's gonna be one tough cookie, boss. Will you take him yourself?"

"Of course." The Prince nodded. "It's my responsibility to…"

"It's _my_ responsibility to ensure your well-being, sire." Frederick interrupted. "I shall take this battle on your behalf."

"All hail Frederick the Wary." Robin chuckled. "In all seriousness, though, it'd be better this way, Chrom. Naruto may have never lost a duel, but this is the Grand Tournament of Ferox and the crowds want to see a fight. If Frederick loses, then we continue challenging him until…"

"… Until you have a plan in place." Chrom suddenly smiled as he got the plan. "Very well. Frederick, I'm counting on you."

"Your faith is not misplaced, milord." Frederick bowed his head at the praise. "This blonde upstart shall face a hardened knight and be cast down within the embers of his own pride."

 **(With Naruto: Minutes later)**

"You ready?" Lon'qu questioned his brother in all but blood as he watched him inspect his katana.

"Ready to kick some princely ass?" Naruto smirked. "Hell yeah."

"They seemed rather put off by your presence when you sized them up." He noted. "What did you say to them?"

"The redhead was regaling them of what she knew of me." He shrugged as he stood and sheathed his katana. "Got to the part about the duels and I told them of the _five_."

"The five most memorable duels you've been in?" Lon'qu let out a quick laugh. "So that's why their flier was cursing you with her glare."

"She was rather cute." Naruto admitted as he slipped his duster on. "You think…?"

"You're asking _me_ for advice on women?" The stoic myrmidon deadpanned.

"Was testing the waters; thought you grew a sense of humor for a moment." The blonde champion waived it off as the announcer outside was hyping up the crowd. "Wish me luck!" He threw a wave over his shoulder as the portcullis in front of him opened.

"Break a leg!" Lon'qu called after him. "Literally this time!"

As he entered the arena, Naruto was met by a roaring applause from the present crowd that damn near deafened him. The entire place was on their feet at the sight of their champion and he returned their affections by unsheathing his katana and holding it aloft as he made his way to the center of the arena, where he sheathed his weapon and rounded upon the rider that was slowly trotting his way from the opposition's bunker.

"And so the knight shall do his duty to protect his coward of a Prince." Naruto shook his head disapprovingly. "What a waste."

"Your confidence is misplaced and your pride shall be your undoing." Frederick tightened his grip upon the silver lance he held in his hand. "Upstart little wretches like you need to be put in your place."

"Then come." Naruto settled down into an Iaido stance. "Come put me in my place if you dare."

With a grunt, Frederick spurred his horse forward into a charge, lance in one hand, reins in the other. As he approached, the thunderous sound of hooves against stone was drowned out by the crowd, who were expecting nothing more than a complete wipe in their champion's favor. With the crowd on his side, Naruto couldn't help but smirk as he drew his hood up, obscuring his face within its shadowy confines and then… Frederick saw them. Red eyes peered out of the darkened hood back at him and as soon as he made eye contact with them, a heavy pressure surrounded his entire being, halting his horse's charge and nearly losing grip upon his weapon.

A gust of wind licked at the back of his neck, followed by what felt like a warhammer being rammed into his right temple which sent him careening to his left off of his horse, his lance clattered to the ground and his horse whinnying frantically after being spooked. As he shook the cobwebs out of his head and blinked a few times to restore his blurry vision, he saw Naruto standing before him as he sheathed his katana, red eyes still visible amongst the void that was the inside of his hood.

"I…" Chrom gripped the railing in front of him tightly. "I didn't even see him move…"

"Is he using magic to enhance his speed?" Robin theorized to himself aloud. "It's certainly possible, but I doubt he has the capacity for that level of self-enchantment."

"Frederick, get up!" Sully screamed. "Kick his ass!"

"Stay down, sir knight." Naruto warned. "You've lost."

"You insult not only my honor, but the honor of my Prince!" Frederick snarled as he stood. "You must fall!"

As if anticipating his next move, Naruto rushed forward and bent low to swipe up the knight's discarded lance, then shot forward once again and with a spinning flourish brought the heavy silver blade up and across Frederick's armored torso in a diagonal arc from left hip to right collar bone, then spun it around and caught his chin with the blunt end of the shaft and spun it once more so it was resting in both of his hands, poised for a straight jab.

This was when, out of the corner of his eye, he noticed something tumbling through the air from his flank. Turning sharply to his right, he swung the lance in an upwards arc to deflect the axe that had been thrown at him, whereupon he rounded upon Frederick once again and delivered the knockout blow via a straight heel kick to the face. As another axe was thrown, Naruto once again deflected the offending weapon to the side as he dashed forward towards the new musclebound opponent who seemed to favor these axes. Just as he neared his new opponent, however, an off-the-mark javelin imbedded itself into the stone in front of him, immediately drawing his attention skywards towards the cute flier girl from before, and following the missed javelin were a pair of hoof beats upon the stone floor of the arena. To his left was the redhead cavalier from before and to his right another cavalier wielding a sword who had a mop of brown hair.

' _Four opponents; three on the ground and one in the air…'_ Naruto mused to himself with an excited smirk splayed across his face, which only grew when he saw a woman hop off of the sword-wielding cavalier's horse… and this woman was a mage. _'Count another opponent who will be their magic support. Oh, this is going to be fun!'_

With his supply of axes out, the axe thrower switched to the iron axe which hung from his belt and charged in headlong, where Naruto all too happily met him with his stolen lance still in hand and brushed aside the first chop but found himself backpedaling to avoid another javelin, where he then found himself rolling out of the way of the redhead's charge for fear of being trampled. As he rose from his roll he spun his lance with a flourish and then threw it, knowing that it wasn't meant to be thrown, at the charging brown-haired cavalier, who ducked under it at the last moment but met the bottom of Naruto's boot as he raised his head right into a flying kick which sent him careening off of his horse.

With one of the two riders unhorsed, Naruto leaped off of the horse and grabbed one of the flier's thrown javelins out of the sky as it flew and in turn threw it at the axe wielder, who barely managed to lean out of the way of the weapon, but in doing so took his eyes off of a still airborne Naruto who came flying back to earth and scored a downwards axe kick to the man's cranium which he followed up with a nasty uppercut that, despite the protective wards, damn near cracked a tooth or two.

"This is insane…" Robin clutched the earthen railing in a vice grip as he watched the blonde mercenary before him mop the floor with the Shepherds like they were third-rate squires. "How can he be this _good_?!" He bit down on his bottom lip, which was now threatening to draw blood. "At this rate, we're going to have to step in personally, Chrom."

"Do you have a strategy yet, Robin?" Chrom turned his attention from the fight to his strategist.

"It's as if he has a sixth sense; he knows what they're about to do even before they do it. From what I can gather, he's a combat _genius_. He knows when, where and how to strike, how hard to strike, when to give ground, when to push, all at the _exact_ perfect time. Moreover, he's a master of subterfuge and masking his own moves with misdirection and distractions…" Throughout his analysis, Robin couldn't help but admire this opponent of his, despite how utterly _terrified_ of him he was at the moment. "If we're to win this, Chrom, our teamwork has to be _perfect_ ; moreover, you have to follow my instructions to the letter."

With the axe man out of commission, Naruto finally turned his attention to the only remaining horsed cavalier, who was spurring her horse into another charge. As she did so, Sully had unknowingly just made the same mistake Frederick before her did; she peered into the glowing red eyes which were still silhouetted within the shadowy confines of Naruto's hood and just as with Frederick, a heavy pressure halted her charge, which gave Naruto all the time in the world to cross the distance between them and kick the redhead off of her horse as he did with the other cavalier prior.

As Sully clattered to the ground before him, Naruto turned his gaze skyward towards the Pegasus knight and after but a moment's consideration, he zoned back into the fight just in time to process the fact that there was a fireball hurtling towards him at top speed. With but a smirk, he held up his right hand and with a bit of added Chakra rotation around his palm effectively _caught_ the fireball midair, then added a bit more rotation to his left palm and separated the once whole fireball into two swirling vortexes of flame, then shot forwards to meet the first unhorsed cavalier toe to toe by ramming his left hand fireball into the man's gut where the mix of fire magic and a _heavily_ toned down Rasengan was too much for him to bare as he was blasted back a few feet and landed on his back, out cold.

With his right hand fireball, he turned on a heel and delivered unto Sully the same attack just as she was rising from her previous prone position and like her comrade before her, was sent skidding back a few feet whereupon she impacted back first against one of the arena walls, solidly knocked out. He then turned and regarded the female mage who was preparing another fire spell to no avail for as soon as she had the fireball ready, Naruto had dashed into her guard, grabbed the fireball out of her prepared hands with an upwards swipe of his right hand while also driving his right boot into her gut, doubling her over where everything then went black for her as he delivered another downwards axe kick to knock her out.

With no other opponent left but the flier, he turned and with a hefty swing of his arm, threw the fireball skyward which prompted Sumia to urge her Pegasus downwards while she prepared her lance for a strafing run. Naruto merely stood there, waiting and watching Sumia as she dove for him until just mere moments from impact, he leaned to his left out of the way of the stab coming his way, grabbed the haft of the weapon with both hands, causing Sumia to fly off of her Pegasus with the sudden backwards momentum exerted upon her.

"You like to fly, girl?" He called out to her, taunting her as she rose, unarmed and unhorsed. "I'll gladly send you airborne once again!"

In a literal blink of an eye, Naruto was before her once again as he delivered an upwards kick to her chin which send her flying upwards, where he shadowed her movements and ended up behind her as she flew. Immediately upon shadowing her, he sent a left kick into her left side, followed up with a left backhand to her right temple, then a right hook to her gut as she continued to fall, where just before impact with the ground, he used the spinning momentum of his right hook to spin himself back around for a final left heel drop to her gut just as she impacted with the stone beneath her.

' _Copying your Shishi Rendan (Lion's Combo) here, Sasuke. Damn if it's not effective.'_ Naruto mentally mused to himself as he finished the combo and hopped away from Sumia's prone and unconscious form.

"Most of my Shepherds…" Chrom grit his teeth in anger. "Humbled by a lone man. At this rate, we won't get the alliance we need!" He then slammed his fist down upon the railing. "Dammit!"

"Not only does he have preternatural senses, lightning quick reflexes and above average strength, but he knows enough about the arcane arts to at least bring up his own barriers and _catch_ spells out of the air…" Again, Robin bit down onto his bottom lip. "Chrom, I'm not sure that I can come up with any viable counter against this force of nature before us…"

"When in doubt, follow your instincts." Chrom turned on a heel and made for the stairs. "And my instincts are begging me to fight him, so fight him I will."

"I'll watch your back." The silver haired strategist followed his Prince closely behind, trying desperately to tune out the applause and cheers from the crowd.

"Is there no one else?!" Naruto challenged as he glanced among the arena. "Your pawns have been laid low, Prince! I think it's about time you come down here and face me yourself!" He then rounded upon the opposing gate leading into the arena. "Face me here, or surrender and be forever known as the Coward of Ylisse, the Prince Who Knelt!"

"Looks like I'm winning the Tournament again, Flavia." Basilio sat down the tankard of mead he had been nursing throughout the entire battle royal. "Good showing this time, though."

"It's ain't over till it's over, oaf." Flavia scoffed. "The Prince and his tactician have yet to fight."

As if on cue, the gates opened and in strode a scowling Chrom and a neutral Robin, both of their cloaks fluttering slightly as they marched the length of the arena before facing him in the center.

"After seeing what I did to your soldiers, you still wish to face me?" Naruto hummed in respect. "Perhaps I misjudged you, Prince."

"I was first fighting for the future of my halidom…" Chrom growled as he narrowed his eyes at the blonde before him. "But now this is about honor."

"Perhaps you'll find both your honor and a favorable outcome for your halidom at the end of this fight." Out of respect, Naruto lowered his hood, whereupon his eyes returned to their normal blue color. "Or perhaps I'm destined to add another win to Khan Basilio's name. Only fate knows for certain."

"Then let's not keep her waiting."

With that declaration, the Prince of Ylisse grabbed his sword by the hilt and unsheathed it with practiced grace, revealing to Naruto a sword that he had already seen, though not in the hands of Chrom.

"That sword…" The blonde eyed the object in question, studying its every detail.

"The holy blade Falchion, wielded by the Hero King Marth himself." Chrom spun his blade in a flourish into a battle ready stance.

It then suddenly hit him.

"Dear Gods…" His eyes widened in realization. "No…"

Needing no other motivation than a distracted enemy, Chrom struck out in a straight stab while Robin came around Naruto's flank with his own steel sword drawn and poised for a follow-up slash which Naruto, after barely zoning back in just in time, sidestepped the stab from the Prince and jumped away from Robin to create some distance between them.

"The legendary Falchion, huh?" Naruto smirked, deciding to keep the revelation he just had to himself for now. "To face such a timeless blade is an honor." He then slowly unsheathed his katana as his smirk grew. "My blade may not be near as illustrious as yours, but I consider my Oblivion to be up to the task of meeting your Falchion blow for blow."

Unbeknownst to all parties involved, within the bowels of the arena was a panicking and sprinting Lucina as she hurried through the maze of twists and turns in an effort to make it to the arena floor, to try and salvage the situation.

"Gods preserve us!" She prayed under her breath as she ran. "Please let me get there in time!"

In so much of a hurry was she that when a figure rounded the corner in front of her, she nearly careened right into them. Luckily, she had shifted to the right slightly to avoid them, then stopped to apologize for her rush and rudeness.

"Going somewhere, Lucy?" The cloaked and hooded figure interrupted her apology before she could give it.

The figure before her was wearing a blood red hooded cloak, a black half-mask which obscured the bottom half of his face, a sleeveless black shirt, matching black pants which were tucked into a pair of black boots whose soles were colored red, black leather bracers upon both forearms, steel reinforcement upon his boots, black fingerless gloves adorned his hands, a belt upon his waist which held numerous pouches and two slots on either of his hips which in turn held a katana on the left and a smaller notch for a dagger on the right. Around his neck was a golden amulet which held a large, round diamond-like crystal as its centerpiece, as well as a silver signet ring which seemed to bear upon its face the image of a fox with dragon wings sprouting from its back.

Lucina's blue eyes bore into the man's equally blue orbs as he stood in her way. "Let me through, Kizuna!" She demanded.

"No can do, Princess." He shrugged while pulling down his half-mask, revealing two symmetrical whisker marks upon both his cheeks, then pushed his hood down, revealing shorty, spiky and unkempt green hair. "The results of this encounter are out of our hands now; even if you were to go out there and take up arms against my old man, it wouldn't change anything."

"Father _has_ to win this fight!" Lucina shook her head. "The fate of Ylisse hangs in the balance; you know this!"

"Time is a fickle thing, Lucy." Kizuna managed a chuckle. "If we dare to assume we know how it works, it'll just end up slapping us in the face with something unexpected. That's why I say let this play out; let's see what happens if either my old man wins or if yours somehow pulls through in the end."

"He _can't_ win, Kizuna!" She continued to press. "At this point in time your Father is too much for mine to handle; I _need_ to be there!"

"It's a battle for honor now, Lucy." Kizuna took a step forward. "Neither your Dad or mine would allow any interference from anyone." Another step was taken, followed by a couple of brief sniffs of the air. "Besides, did you _really_ think I'd let you pass knowing full well that you have the lingering smell of my old man on you?"

"L-Last night was…" Slightly ashamed of herself, Lucina's gaze drifted downwards to the earthen floor. "A drunken misadventure."

"A drunken misadventure that ended up with you fucking my old man, huh?" He mock nodded in understanding before narrowing his eyes. "And by fucking my Dad you could very well be carrying _ME_ in your belly given some time! Did you not stop to think about the ramifications of spreading your legs for someone you know _damn_ well you shouldn't have?!"

"I'm _not_ carrying you, Kizuna!" Lucina rose to the challenge. "Last night was nothing more than a heat of the moment fuck; nothing more!"

"Again, I reiterate; a heat of the moment fuck that not only took away your virginity but could possibly end up with this world's version of me being your son?!" A bit of red was seeping into his blue orbs now and it seemed as if his fingernails were growing into claws. "I hope you see where I'm _slightly_ pissed off at you here!"

"I'm sorry, Kizuna, I really, _really_ am!" She stepped around him. "But there are bigger issues here than who I have or haven't given my virginity to!"

A now clawed hand wrapped around her wrist as she tried to leave.

"Let this play out." Kizuna all but ordered. "Let this play out on its own without intervention; you've done enough harm already, Lucy. You're staying hands off from now on."

"And who are you to order me?" Her branded eye seemed to glow dangerously as she glared back into Kizuna's now red eyes.

"You know exactly who, Lucy." Kizuna's fangs were now starting to show themselves while the stone in his amulet began to glow. "You don't want to wake the dragon within."

Undeterred by the unknown conversation, the crowd of Arena Ferox cheered as the fight raged on. With Robin now standing on the sidelines, Chrom and Naruto locked blades once again and began a struggle for supremacy in which the latter blonde won by stepping into the Prince's guard and ramming his right knee into his gut while simultaneously parrying Falchion upwards. Chrom, however, backpedaled out of the way of the downwards slash that would have connected and spun his legendary blade in his hand, then lunged forward in a straight jab which was parried downwards.

Using that downward momentum, Chrom spun Falchion back up into both hands and struck forwards once again with three quick strikes which were all blocked, ending up with another blade lock that this time they both disengaged from in order to circle one another. After a scant few seconds, Chrom found himself batting away and weaving through a handful of thrown shuriken that Naruto had tossed his way, then followed up with a rising slash that Chrom back stepped out of the way of and followed through with a horizontal slash.

Naruto, who was still recovering from the missed slash used the remaining momentum of said slash and fell backwards into a one-handed handspring, where his foot on its upward arc connected with Falchion, knocking it free of Chrom's grasp and sending it flying upwards. As he landed and righted himself from his acrobatics, Naruto looked up and to his utter amusement, Chrom was pulling off the same aerial stunt that Lucina had tried on him just a day prior; he had leaped high and was now descending upon him with Falchion in hand, poised for a downwards slash.

' _And thus the battle is mine…'_ He mused to himself victoriously as he sheathed Oblivion and crouched down into his favored Iaido stance.

Seeing his opponent sheathe his blade, Chrom's own sixth sense began screaming danger at him when, sure enough, the blonde shot upwards while very rapidly unsheathing his katana for what he was sure was to be the finishing blow. At the very last second, Chrom managed to bring Falchion in between him and the incoming blade, then tucked and rolled over the charging swordsman to end up behind him, standing and blade poised for a counter. He charged forward, meeting Naruto just as he landed from his missed strike and blindsided him with a slash that ran down the entire length of his back.

Dazed, but not unaware of what was happening, Naruto rode through the pain shooting through his back and rolled forward out of the immediate danger zone, then turned and faced a still charging Chrom, but was not expecting the weight behind the next strike, which sent Oblivion clattering to the ground out of his grasp which was followed up by a shoulder charge from the Prince and a harsh backhand delivered by his empty left hand. Now thoroughly knocked off balance and disarmed, Naruto only had the wherewithal to perceive the next and final strike from Chrom, which was an overhead two-handed cleave which struck the blonde and staggered him backwards into the wall of the arena clutching both his face and chest.

The sound of metal sinking into stone filled the arena and by the time Naruto shook the cobwebs out of his head, he saw that Chrom had imbedded Falchion into the wall to the right of his head.

"If this were a real fight…" The Prince took in a couple of good breaths. "You would be dead now." He then wrenched Falchion free of the stone and took a step forward so he and his blonde opponent were eye to eye. "I win."

Silence. Pin drop silence filled the arena as Chrom sheathed Falchion and brushed past Robin on his way out of the arena. Robin, however, lingered in the arena, his sole focus on Naruto, who instead of scowling… seemed to be smiling?

"The stories did him justice, it seems…" Naruto managed a chuckle as he retrieved Oblivion and sheathed it. "Prince Chrom of Ylisse… a worthy foe and someone I'm happy to have lost to." He then turned to the still shell-shocked crowd and regarded them. "Prince Chrom of Ylisse has finally dethroned me! He's won, fair and square! Was it not a fight worthy of this spectacular coliseum?!"

What was first a murmur then turned into a tidal wave of cheers, jeers and applause for the spectacle that was just witnessed. The entire arena was on their feet… save for Basilio, who was too stunned to even move.

"I'll be taking my throne back now, oaf." Flavia taunted him with a shit-eating grin. "And I'll also be needing your troops; Ylisse has a new ally!"

"See what I mean, Lucy?" Kizuna spared a sideways glance at his companion as they stood in one of the side halls that connected to the arena floor. "What did I say?"

"You're not mad?" Lucina glanced back at him.

"At the situation? No." He shook his head negative. "At you? Oh, hell yes."

"You'll get over it in time." She sighed. "I know you too well."

"One does not simply get over their best friend fucking their parent." He pushed himself off of the wall he was leaning against and began walking away. "If things hold up, then we should know what happens next. To the Plegian border?"

"… Yeah." Lucina decided to let it go for now and opted instead to follow her friend's lead.

 **(Flavia's Castle: Later that night)**

"It's official." Chrom smiled as he addressed his Shepherds. "Ferox will be assisting us against the Risen, and us them."

"We sure went through hell to get this alliance." Vaike mumbled. "Damned blonde bastard cracked a tooth, I think."

"We were manhandled out there, every single one of us!" Sully slammed a bottle of ale down upon the table she was sitting at.

"Those magical wards barely did anything." Sumia clutched her bandaged torso. "He was brutally efficient in how he took us out."

"Gods willing, we're rid of him now." Frederick joined the conversation. "He'll be leading Khan Basilio's half of the army, but that shall be the extent of our interactions with him."

"Don't count your eggs before they hatch, Sir Knight." Came a painfully familiar voice as Naruto chose just then to enter the room, followed by Lon'qu.

"Say what you will, he has that 'bad boy' vibe about him…" Lissa seemed to swoon upon him entering.

"Naruto." Chrom stepped in before anyone could try anything. "What bring you here?"

"A request from Khan Basilio." He clarified his purpose. "As part of his direct aid, he's offering my personal services to the Shepherds, along with my best friend and top lieutenant, Lon'qu."

"An honor." Lon'qu inclined his head to Chrom upon being introduced.

"He believes we'd be of more use on the frontlines instead of in the back ranks." Naruto continued. "Though if you have no room or use for us, then we stay here in Ferox."

Though a good half of the Shepherds wanted to speak up in protest, they all knew the final say lay in Chrom's hands, and as their Prince settled into a thinking pose, he turned to Robin and exchanged glances. Upon exchanging glances, Robin seemed to shrug while also nodding his head, as if an entire conversation had just taken place.

"We'd be mad to turn you away." Chrom turned to the blonde. "We all have seen and felt your power; power that could strike fear into the blackened hearts of the Risen."

"Welcome to the Shepherds." Robin stepped up an extended his hand. "I'm Robin, the tactician of the Shepherds."

"A pleasure." Naruto shook the man's hand with a smile. "Hopefully we all can put today behind us and start anew."

The silver-haired man seemed to squint a bit after shaking hands. "… Have we met before?"

"Not that I know of." Naruto furrowed his brow in confusion. "Why do you ask?"

"… Bah, I must be mistaken." He waived it off and turned to the rest of the Shepherds, then began pointing them out. "That's Sumia, Virion, Vaike, Sully, Stahl, Frederick, Miriel and…"

As Robin glanced his way, Kellam lit up with excitement.

' _They're finally going to notice me!'_ He was mentally celebrating.

"I'm Lissa!" Lissa squirmed her way in between Robin and Naruto, planting a hand on the latter blonde's chest as she did so. "W-Wow…" She blushed. "You're even cuter up close…"

"Everything about me is better up close, my lady…" A mischievous glint shone in his eye as he took the hand on his chest into his own and planted a kiss upon it.

"AHEM." Chrom very loudly and pointedly cleared his throat. "Stay away from my sister in the future, if you please." He dragged a now madly blushing Lissa away from the new object of her affections.

"I'll try my best." Naruto snickered. "Though I think it'd be more reasonable to ask _her_ to stay away from _me_. I'm irresistible, you know."

"And quite conceited." Lon'qu slapped his friend on the back of the head. "Keep it in your pants this time, will you?"

"If an opportunity presents itself…" He began, but got another slap to the back of the head for his trouble and a glare from his best friend. "Yeah, yeah…" He snorted.

He was a Shepherd now… under the command of the Father of the girl from the future that he had bedded. It was certainly a turn of events, but if it opened more doors to explore, he's gladly pass through the threshold. That didn't mean, however, he had to relinquish the knowledge that something else was obviously going on behind the scenes, which he was curious as hell about. Maybe by tagging along with the Shepherds, the mysteries would unravel themselves?

One thing he knew for sure; it seemed that Chrom's younger sister was into him, and he had only heard rumors of the Exalt Emmeryn's beauty. If they were returning to Ylisse, then he'd learn for himself… and he was looking forward to meeting Emmeryn for a number of different reasons.

He wasn't planning to charm his way into the bed of a noblewoman, honest.

 **AN: Will Naruto get his chance to have a go at Emmeryn, will she be too much of a challenge for him? Will Lissa get over her crush, is it something more than just base lust? WHO IS KIZUNA'S MOTHER?! I know all of this and my lips are sealed!**

 **That being said, feel free to speculate on who Kizuna's Mom is; there's really only two possibilities, so speculate away! Now, onto the pairings proper. With the inclusion of Kizuna, he's the biggest hint for who one of the girls will be. For now, I think I'm going to limit the pairings at three, including Kizuna's mother. Who knows, though? I may just have it be a single pairing with that pairing being Kizuna's mom. Opinions are very appreciated on this front, as I've already settled on one girl of the potential three. Who should the other two be? My mind is** _ **almost**_ **made up on including Cordelia and the possibility of Olivia is also an enticing thought, but alas, I turn to you all for your valuable opinions! Make 'em good!**

 **This is ZeroDivisionRaijin, signing off!**


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